Opening Day. It's like Christmas and your birthday all rolled into one. We waited all winter long for it and when it finally got here, it didn't disappoint. Whether your team won or lost, it was still a great day filled with baseball. Here are the top ten things that (at least in my opinion) made Opening Day worth the long, dreary wait..10. Roy Halladay struck out 9 batters in his Phillies debut. Granted, those batters played for the Nationals and my grandma could have probably struck out 6 of them, but still. Phillies phans got a preview of his awesomeness and what the Doc has in store for them this season. Cliff who?
9. Diamondbacks shortstop Stephen Drew hit an inside-the-park homerun. Thanks to a combination of the overhang in centerfield, a great hit, and the right amount of wind, the ball was virtually unplayable for San Diego centerfielder Tony Gwynn, Jr., and left fielder Kyle Blanks had to come try to keep it a triple. Fail.
8. *Disclaimer: as a Twins fan, I do not find this one to be appealing. As a baseball fan, I have to add it to the list of highlights.* Hideki Matsui and Kendry Morales hit back to back homeruns off of Twins reliever Jose Mijares. Matsui, last year's World Series MVP, wanted to stick it to the Yankees for no longer loving him, and show them he's still got it. Unfortunately, he stuck it to the Twins instead. Also homering in this game were a slimmed down Delmon Young for the Twins and Jeff Mathis for the Angels. Homerfests = awesome.
7. Two time and defending NL Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum shook off his Opening Day jitters and got the win against the Astros and their ace Roy Oswalt. Last year's opener? Poor Li'l Timmy didn't make it past the third inning. Side note: Timmy's long hair makes him look like a total d-bag. We understand he doesn't want to look like a twelve-year-old choir boy, but this 'do is a don't.
6. Just in case you forgot, Albert Pujols wanted to remind you why he's a three time NL MVP by hitting not one, but TWO bombs on Opening Day. Thus beginning his quest to hit at least two out of the park per game this season. Big Al plans on hitting at least 324 homeruns this year. He'll do it too, just you watch.
5. Pittsburgh rightfielder Garrett Jones wants you to know that he didn't just get lucky in 2009. The 28 year old, who had a breakout season last year, started the 2010 season with a homer in each of his first two at-bats. Pirates fans will be sad when the Yankees snatch him up someday.
4. Jerrod
3. After a 5 year
2. Jason Heyward, the Atlanta Braves 20-year-old rookie rightfielder, hit a 3-run shot with the very first swing of his very first big league at-bat. With that, he becomes the 11th Braves player to hit a homerun during his major-league debut, and the 5th to do so during his first plate appearance. Did we mention that the Braves creamed the Cubs 16-5? That's SIXTEEN runs. While teammates such as Chipper Jones and Billy Wagner are old enough to be his father, the poor kid can't even legally go have a beer to celebrate this amazing feat. We here at BLB HQ will have to do so for him.
1. And our number one spot goes to someone who, as a Twins fan, I despise, so you KNOW it's gotta be good. Mark Buehrle's already locked in the gold glove for this year with this play:
I had the video on here for about 30 seconds before MLB and the copyright police banished the clip from YouTube. So you'll either have to click on the link above or just trust that it was awesome.
We wish you a very merry baseball season!
xoxo,
BLB
7 comments:
Was at the Braves-Cubs game to see the potential historic momen of J-Hey hitting the 442ft bomb on his first MLB at bat. Never seen Turner Field like it was in the 12 years living here and attending many games! It was pretty cool; Opening Day magic at its best. Can't wait for Twins home opener next Monday.
I didn't think Lincecum looked like a d-bag. I thought he looked like a 12-year old choir girl.
About that Heyward homer...check this out!
http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/Ten_Things_About_Jason_Heywards_First_Home_Run/2374160
Come on, be a little nicer to those Nationals players!!!!
I did not enjoy #10, or #4. At all. Damn that Salty Saltamander.
Yay Opening Day! Even for all the losses, it was still a success. Baseball is back, THANK GOODNESS.
I feel like Milwaukee's Carlos Gomez should get an honorable mention at number 11 for learning to calm down and take some pitches and get four hits including a homerun. He might be the next in a long line of former Twins who become awesome after they let him go (along with #5's Garrett Jones!)
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